Restaurant Firsts
Ethiopian Cuisine Debuts
Around the World
WHEN DID AMERICAN, CANADIAN AND WORLD CITIES get their first Ethiopian (or Eritrean) restaurants? Here’s a growing list – arranged chronologically and geographically – of what opened where and when since Beyene Guililat began it all with his restaurant in 1966.
I’ve pored over many databases and will continue to add to the list, but this method has shortcomings: Some tiny enat na abat (mom ‘n’ pop) restaurants may have opened and closed so quickly that they never made their local newspapers, not all of which are digitalized anyway – and I don’t have access to every database. So I welcome additions and corrections to my culinary archaeology.
Long Beach Press-Telegram,
July 21, 1966 (click to read)
In some cases, I can document the existence of an early restaurant in a city but haven’t yet confirmed either the year it opened or that it was, in fact, the first. I’ll include those here and mark them with (***) to show when some cities probably had their first restaurants. The Name Meanings link takes you to another page of mine, and you can visit my Ethiopian restaurants page to find a state-by-state list of current restaurants.
The oldest Ethiopian restaurant in the United States is Blue Nile, which opened in Detroit in 1983. (Queen of Sheba in Dallas opened in 1983, closed in 2002, and reopened in 2005.) The restaurants on the list that opened before it are all closed. Some cities had restaurants that only lasted for a short while: In the risky restaurant business, places come and go. I’ve included closing dates for a few early long-lasting restaurants – and for some that disappeared in a blink.
As for the oldest Ethiopian restaurant in the world: There seems to be dueling candidates. Needless to say, it’s in Ethiopia. But is it Addis Ababa restaurant, located in (and named for) the nation’s capital, or is it the restaurant at the Itege Taitu Hotel? I can’t find a precise date for the restaurant’s opening, but a very nice documentary (in Amharic) that I found in July 2017 says it’s 100 years old. That date could be ballpark or precise – no way to know. Itege Taitu Hotel opened in 1898 on the Ethiopian calendar, which is 1904-05 on the Western calendar. I’ll keep digging to confirm the date of the restaurant’s opening. The documentary offers a glimpse inside the place today along with historic photos of its past. So even if you don’t understand Amharic, it’s worth watching.
The oldest restaurant in the world outside of Ethiopia seems to be Africa, which opened in Rome in 1975. If there’s an older one, I’ve yet to find any trace of it. The restaurant bills itself today as Ethiopian-Eritrean, but it opened as an Eritrean restaurant, which makes sense: From 1888 to 1941, Eritrea was an Italian colony, and cultural exchanges went both ways. And in 2014, the restaurant Ketfò in Rome claimed to have launched the first Ethiopian food truck in Europe.
And what to make of this odd squib that appeared in the June 26, 1931, issue of the venerable Life magazine: “CHICAGO, June 17 – Tony Villettina, a Siamese connected with the beer handling mob of the lower South Side, was shot and killed as he emerged from the Café La Bella della Mussolini, an Ethiopian restaurant, this morning.” It’s highly unlikely that Chicago had an Ethiopian restaurant in 1931. In fact, a closer look at the item reveals it to be a satirical riff on Italian gangsters (always a source of rousing humor).
So here’s the list of restaurant firsts. We’ll start with the United States and then move on to Canada and the rest of the world.
| The 1960s: Beyene Guililat’s Legacy |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Long Beach, Calif. | 1966 | Ethiopian Restaurant (first in the nation) |
| San Diego, Calif. | 1969 | Ethiopian Restaurant (same owner as above) |
| The 1970s: From Coast to Coast |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Miami, Fla. | 1972 | Ethiopian Lair |
| Washington, D.C. | 1978 | Mamma Desta |
| New York, N.Y. | 1979 | Sheba (see the menu) |
| Los Angeles, Calif. | 1979 | Walia |
| The 1980s: Big Cities, Small Towns |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland, Calif. | 1980 | Blue Nile |
| Boston, Mass. | 1981 | Lalibela |
| Berkeley, Calif. | 1982 | Blue Nile (same owner as Oakland) |
| Seattle, Wash. | 1982 | Kokeb (closed in 2012) |
| Houston, Texas | 1982 | Queen of Sheba |
| Detroit, Mich. | 1983 | Blue Nile (nation’s oldest) |
| Dallas, Texas | 1983 | Queen of Sheba (closed in 2002, reopened in 2005) |
| Portland, Ore. | 1983 | Jarra’s (closed in 2014) |
| Atlanta, Ga. | 1983 | Blue Nile |
| Culver City, Calif. | 1983 | Ghion |
| Chicago, Ill. | 1984 | Mama Desta’s Red Sea (closed in 2009) |
| Walla Walla, Wash. | 1984 | Debeb’s |
| Bloomington, Ind. | 1984 | Ashenda’s |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | 1984 | Nyala |
| Baltimore, Md. | 1985 | Queen of Sheba |
| St. Paul, Minn. | 1985 | Harar*** |
| Minneapolis, Minn. | 1985 | Odaa*** |
| Denver, Colo. | 1985 | Ethiopian Restaurant |
| St. Louis, Mo. | 1985 | Red Sea (Eritrean) |
| Santa Monica, Calif. | 1985 | Marathon |
| San Jose, Calif. | 1986 | Red Sea (Eritrean) |
| San Francisco, Calif. | 1986 | Rasselas |
| Tampa, Fla. | 1987 | Nile |
| West Chester, Pa. | 1988 | Court House II |
| Boulder, Colo. | 1989 | Ras Kassa’s |
| The 1990s: Middle Americas |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg, Fla. | 1990 | Ghion |
| Syracuse, N.Y. | 1990 | Red Sea |
| Lancaster, Pa. | 1991 | Blue Nile |
| Austin, Texas | 1991 | The Ethiopian Restaurant |
| Dayton, Ohio | 1991 | Blue Nile |
| Madison, Wisc. | 1992 | Horn of Africa (Eritrean) Buraka (food cart, later a restaurant) |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 1992 | Empress Taytu |
| New Haven, Conn. | 1992 | Caffé Adulis (Eritrean) |
| Columbus, Ohio | 1993 | A&B Carryout |
| Santa Ana, Calif. | 1993 | Ras Dashen |
| Las Vegas, Nev. | 1993 | Red Sea (Eritrean) |
| Tucson, Ariz. | 1993 | Zemam’s |
| Ligonier, Ind. | 1994 | Daniel’s Ligonier Café (Weekends only, owner is Ethiopian) |
| Durham, N.C. | 1994 | Blue Nile |
| Louisville, Ky. | 1994 | Café Kilimanjaro (pan-African, Ethiopian owner) |
| Indianapolis, Ind. | 1995 | Queen of Sheba |
| Kansas City, Kan. | 1995 | Martha’s Café |
| Kansas City, Mo. | 1995 | Blue Nile Café |
| Richmond, Va. | 1995 | Ye Ethiopia Injera |
| New Brunswick, N.J. | 1996 | Makeda |
| East Lansing, Mich. | 1996 | Altu’s |
| Sandusky, Ohio | 1996 | Queen of Sheba (closed within a year) |
| Nashville, Tenn. | 1996 | Bella Pizza (Ethiopian owner, cuisine on weekends only) |
| Hartford, Conn. | 1997 | Wolde’s |
| Sioux Falls, S.D. | 1997 | Blue Nile |
| Orlando, Fla. | 1997 | Sabina |
| Sacramento, Calif. | 1997 | Queen Sheba |
| Phoenix, Ariz. | 1997 | Café Lalibela |
| Charlotte, N.C. | 1999 | Red Sea (Eritrean) |
| The 21st Century Begins: Mesob Across America |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Rochester, N.Y. | 2000 | Abyssinia*** |
| Grand Rapid, Mich. | 2000 | Little Africa (originally Teshlou’s Imports) |
| North Miami Beach, Fla. | 2000 | A Taste of Ethiopia |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 2000 | Addis Zemen |
| Memphis, Tenn. | 2000 | Abyssinia |
| Loma Linda, Calif. | 2001 | Andrew’s Ethiopian and Italian Cuisine |
| Raleigh, N.C. | 2001 | Abyssinia |
| New Orleans, La. | 2001 | Red Sea (originally Warehouse Café) |
| Stamford, Conn. | 2001 | Teff (Eritrean) (Took this name in 2015; began as a deli in 2001, serving the cuisine three days a week) |
| Chapel Hill, N.C. | 2002 | Queen of Sheba |
| Milwaukee, Wis. | 2002 | Lula’s Café (Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali cuisine) |
| Jacksonville, Fla. | 2003 | Queen of Sheba |
| Montclair, N.J. | 2003 | Mesob |
| Salt Lake City, Utah | 2004 | Oromian Restaurant (original name: African Restaurant) |
| Frederick, Md. | 2004 | Tajitu |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | 2004 | Abay |
| Hampton, Va. | 2004 | Bahir Dar |
| Omaha, Neb. | 2004 | International Café (Somali and Ethiopian) |
| Portland, Maine | 2004 | Asmara (Eritrean) |
| Harrisonburg, Va. | 2004 | Blue Nile (began as catering business in 1993) |
| Lexington, Ky. | 2005 | Royal Fasica Christine |
| Bellingham, Wash | 2005 | Ambo (food booth first, restaurant in 2014) |
| Sarasota, Fla. | 2005 | Fly |
| York, Pa. | 2005 | Sequina Café |
| Mankato, Minn. | 2005 | Nile Café |
| Lawrence, Kan. | 2005 | Addis Ababa |
| Worthington, Minn. | 2006 | Queen Sheba |
| Santa Rosa, Calif. | 2006 | Santa Trata (Eritrean) |
| Iowa City, Iowa | 2006 | David’s Place |
| West Palm Beach, Fla. | 2006 | Queen of Sheeba (Takeout opened in 2006, restaurant in 2015) |
| Oklahoma City, Okla. | 2006 | Queen of Sheba |
| Fairbanks, Alaska | 2007 | Tekul (closed that year) |
| Reno, Nev. | 2007 | Zagol |
| Fresno, Calif. | 2007 | Lucy’s Lair |
| Blacksburg, Va. | 2007 | Excellent Table |
| Fort Wayne, Ind. | 2008 | Ethiopian Restaurant |
| Charlottesville, Va. | 2008 | Mesob |
| Myrtle Beach, S.C. | 2008 | Redi-Et (catering only, restaurant closed in 2017) |
| Asheville, N.C. | 2008 | Abaye Cuisine (catering and pop-up restaurant) |
| Burlington, Vt. | 2009 | ¡Duino! (Duende) (Tuesday night Ethiopian menu) |
| The 21st Century Continues: The New Chinese? |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Spring, Colo. | 2010 | Uchenna |
| Davis, Calif. | 2010 | Queen Sheba |
| Spokane, Wash. | 2010 | Queen of Sheba |
| Mt. Kisco, N.Y. | 2010 | Lalibela |
| Lincoln, Neb. | 2010 | Ajora Falls (originally African Restaurant) |
| Albuquerque, N.M. | 2010 | Damara (served only on Saturdays) |
| Fairfield, Iowa | 2010 | Addis (food booth first, restaurant in 2014) |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | 2011 | Addis Ababa (Thursday pop-up, closed that year) |
| Providence, R.I. | 2011 | Abyssinia |
| Jackson, Miss. | 2011 | Abeba |
| Knoxville, Tenn. | 2011 | Gosh |
| Buffalo, N.Y. | 2012 | Lucy |
| Rochester, Minn. | 2012 | Nile |
| Norristown, Pa. | 2013 | Almaz |
| Greensboro, S.C. | 2013 | Taste of Ethiopia |
| Eureka, Calif. | 2013 | Ethiopian International Café |
| Virginia Beach, Va. | 2013 | A&N Café (now called Mesob Café) |
| Columbia, S.C. | 2013 | Salina Café |
| Allentown, Pa. | 2013 | Mariam’s |
| Charleston, S.C. | 2013 | Ethiopian Taste (closed a year later) |
| Fort Worth, Texas | 2014 | Samson’s Market and Bistro |
| San Antonio, Texas | 2014 | Berbere (catering service, festival booths) |
| Ottumwa, Iowa | 2014 | Safari |
| Des Moines, Iowa | 2014 | International African Cuisine |
| Fargo, N.D. | 2014 | Habesha |
| Boise, Idaho | 2014 | Kibrom’s |
| East Aurora, N.Y. | 2014 | Thea’s |
| Harrisburg, Pa. | 2014 | Cafe D’Afric (closed in 2016) |
| Eugene, Ore. | 2015 | Addis |
| Athens, Ga. | 2015 | Mannaweenta (Eritrean) |
| Tulsa, Okla. | 2015 | Eritrean and Ethiopian Café |
| Ithaca, N.Y. | 2015 | Hawi |
| Albany, N.Y. | 2015 | Umana (Afro-Caribbean international menu, Ethiopian platter on Fridays and Saturdays) |
| Santa Fe, N.M. | 2015 | Café Roha |
| Cordova, Tenn. | 2015 | Ethiopian Restaurant & Coffee |
| Lawrenceville, Ga. | 2016 | Sodere Ethio-American Cuisine |
| Davenport, Iowa | 2016 | Taste of Ethiopia |
| Victorville, Calif. | 2016 | Ribka |
| Birmingham, Ala. | 2016 | Ghion Cultural Hall |
| Johnson City, Tenn. | 2017 | Green Olive |
| Fayetteville, Ga. | 2018 | Mulu’s Ethiopian Kitchen |
| North Bergen, N.J. | 2018 | Ghenet Hudson |
| Broken Arrow, Okla. | 2018 | Lalibela |
| Anchorage, Alaska | 2018 | Queen of Sheba |
| Hana (Maui), Alaska | 2018 | Berbere Food Truck |
| Manchester, Conn. | 2018 | Walia |
| San Luis Obispo, Calif. | 2019 | Ebony (began as pop-up) |
| Carol Stream, Ill. | 2019 | Ethio Beans |
| Chattanooga, Tenn. | 2021 | Adey |
| Northern Exposure: Mesob Across Canada |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto, Ontario | 1983 | Queen of Sheba (closed in 2013) |
| Montréal, Quebec | 1983 | Addis |
| Vancouver, British Columbia | 1988 | Nyala (opened as Yia-Sou) |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1990 | Messob |
| Ottawa, Ontario | 1992 | Addis Café |
| Calgary, Alberta | 1993 | Teff |
| Hamilton, Ontario | 1993 | Lion of Judah |
| Windsor, Ontario | 1994 | Queen of Sheba |
| Edmonton, Alberta | 1994 | Fassil (moved to Calgary in 2007) |
| Kitchener, Ontario | 1996 | A M Africa (Eritrean) |
| London, Ontario | 1996 | Enat |
| Halifax, Nova Scotia | 2003 | Addis Ababa |
| Regina, Saskatchewan | 2003 | Selam |
| Victoria, British Columbia | 2005 | Blue Nile (Eritrean) |
| Fredericton, New Brunswick | 2012 | Hana |
| Yellowknife, Northwest Territories | 2014 | Zehabesha |
| Brandon, Manitoba | 2015 | Tana |
| St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador | 2015 | Gursha (at St. John’s Farmer’s Market) |
| Australasian Offerings: Mesob Down Under |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | 1988 | Nyala (East African) |
| Mount Isa | 1994 | Abyssinia |
| Canberra | 2002 | Ethiopia Down Under |
| Perth | 2003 | Ethiopian Café and Artifacts |
| Brisbane | 2004 | Mu’ooz (Eritrean) |
| Adelaide | 2006 | Addis Ababa Café |
| Hobart (Tasmania) | 2008 | Axum |
| Auckland (New Zealand) | 2012 | Café Abyssinia |
| Sydney | 2012 | Jambo Jambo |
| Coffs Harbour | 2012 | Mana Chita (first booth, restaurant 2019) |
| Wellington (New Zealand) | 2014 | The Meeting Tree |
| Newcastle | 2014 | Habesha |
| Ballarat | 2014 | Café Merkama |
| Continental Cuisine: Mesob Across Europe |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Rome | 1975 | Africa*** (Eritrean) |
| Milan | 1978 | Da Samson (Eritrean) |
| Athens | 1970s | [ Name and date unknown ] |
| London | 1983 | Abyssinia |
| Paris | 1983 | Entoto |
| Karlsruhe (Germany) | 1988 | Mogogo (Eritrean) (originally Restaurant Afrika) |
| Oslo | 1990 | Exodus*** |
| Bologna | 1990 | Ristorante Africano (Eritrean) |
| Naples | 1992 | Red Sea (Eritrean) |
| Amsterdam | 1992 | Lalibela |
| Eindhoven (Netherlands) | 1992 | Ethiopisch Restaurant |
| The Hague | 1996 | Mogogo (Eritrean) |
| Budapest | 1996 | Lalibela (began as a catering service) |
| Darmstadt (Germany) | 1996 | African Safari |
| Copenhagen | 1999 | Mesob |
| Moscow | 1999 | Addis Abeba (originally Bungalow Bar) |
| Hamburg | 1999 | Ethio |
| Cologne | 1999 | Selam |
| Berlin | 2000 | Bejte*** |
| Leiden (Netherlands) | 2000 | Djebena (Eritrean) |
| Stockholm | 2002 | Abyssinia |
| Ingolstadt (Germany) | 2003 | Äthiopisches Restaurant |
| Toulon (France) | 2005 | Rastafari |
| Lausanne (Switzerland) | 2005 | Abyssinia |
| Sheffield (England) | 2005 | Ethio Cubano |
| Barcelona | 2006 | Abissinia |
| Reading (England) | 2006 | Tutu’s Ethiopian Table |
| Heidelberg | 2006 | Abyssinia |
| Düsseldorf | 2006 | Tiru |
| Lyon (France) | 2006 | Messob |
| Leeds (England) | 2007 | Merkato |
| Leuven (Belgium) | 2007 | House of Lalibela |
| Brussels | 2007 | Kokob |
| Antwerp | 2007 | Kokob |
| Manchester | 2007 | Habesha |
| Prague | 2008 | Ethiopia Café |
| Kassel (Germany) | 2009 | Abessina (Eritrean) |
| Madrid | 2009 | Mesob (now called Habesha) |
| Glasgow | 2010 | Queen of Sheba |
| Metz (France) | 2010 | Ô Paradis éthiopien |
| Marseille (France) | 2010 | La Reine de Saba |
| Villeurbanne (France) | 2010 | Walya |
| Nice (France) | 2011 | Le Soleil d’Asmara |
| Vienna | 2011 | Ethiopian Restaurant |
| Liverpool | 2011 | Selam Café (Eritrean) |
| Birmingham | 2011 | Blue Nile |
| Flúðir (Iceland) | 2011 | Minilik |
| Bern (Switzerland) | 2011 | Injera |
| Vigo (Spain) | 2011 | Habesha |
| San Leo (Italy) | 2012 | Ketfò |
| Helsinki | 2012 | Kuningatar Saba (Queen Sheba) |
| Heiderscheid (Luxembourg) | 2012 | Jimmy |
| Nottingham | 2012 | Habesha |
| Lille (France) | 2013 | Habesha |
| Riccione (Italy) | 2013 | Addis |
| Göttingen (Germany) | 2013 | Abessina |
| Warsaw | 2013 | Abyssinia (catering company first, restaurant in 2015) |
| Reykjavik | 2014 | Teni |
| Mainz (Germany) | 2014 | Madiba Afrika |
| Neuchâtel (Switzerland) | 2014 | Abyssinia |
| Gent (Belgium) | 2015 | Muday |
| Caen (France) | 2015 | L’Abyssin |
| Kiev | 2015 | Sarman (Ethiopian, Georgian, Russian, European cuisine) |
| Brighton (England) | 2016 | Abyssinia |
| Las Palmas, Canary Islands (Spain) | 2016 | Etiopica Afrika |
| Amiens (France) | 2016 | Abyssinia |
| Auxerre (France) | 2016 | Wollo |
| Bordeaux (France) | 2016 | Adey Abeba |
| Aix-en-Provence (France) | 2017 | Chez Ama |
| Hanover (Germany) | 2017 | Hawashait |
| Clermont-Ferrand (France) | 2017 | Lalibela |
| Heswall (England) | 2017 | Abyssinia Kitchen |
| Strasbourg (France) | 2017 | Abyssinia |
| Rennes (France) | 2018 | Restaurant Ethiopien |
| Amersfoort, Netherlands | 2019 | Awaze |
| Dublin | 2019 | Gursha (Friday/Saturday pop-up) |
| Ulm, Germany | 2020 | Abyssinia |
| Poznan, Poland | 2022 | Habeshawi |
| International Cuisine: Mesob Around the World |
|---|
| City | Year | Restaurant Name |
|---|---|---|
| Harare, Zimbabwe | 1986*** | Timbuctoo (Ethiopian, West African, Moroccan) |
| Tokyo | 1990 | Queen Sheba |
| Kingston (Jamaica) | 1992 | Queen of Sheba*** (inside the Bob Marley Museum) |
| Jerusalem | 1992 | Ethiopian Restaurant*** |
| Kampala | 1992 | Ethiopian Village*** |
| Accra | 1994 | Lalibela*** |
| Kigali (Rwanda) | 1997 | Addis*** |
| Dar es Salaam | 1998 | Addis in Dar*** |
| Arusha (Tanzania) | 1999 | Spices and Herbs*** |
| Lusaka (Zambia) | 2000 | Green Ethiopian Restaurant*** |
| Dubai, UAR | 2000 | Al Habasha |
| Osaka | 2001 | Axum |
| Windhoek (Namibia) | 2001 | Abyssinia*** |
| Cairo | 2003 | Axum*** |
| Bangkok | 2003 | Abyssinia Café |
| Manila | 2005 | Ziggurat*** (trans-national cuisines including Ethiopian) |
| Sana’a (Yemen) | 2006 | Ethiopian Restaurant*** |
| Dakar | 2006 | Lalibela*** |
| Cape Town | 2007 | Addis in Cape |
| Juba (South Sudan) | 2007 | Kush |
| Hawally (Kuwait) | 2007 | Al Habesha |
| Manama (Bahrain) | 2008 | Millennium (in Concorde Hotel) |
| Beijing | 2008 | Ras |
| Abu Dhabi, UAR | 2008 | Al Habasha (same owner as Dubai) |
| Fukuoka (Japan) | 2008 | Fasika |
| Seoul | 2009 | Club Zion |
| Zanzibar City (Tanzania) | 2011 | Abyssinian Maritim |
| Istanbul | 2012 | Habesha |
| Doha (Qatar) | 2012 | Mesob Habesha |
| Harare (Zimbabwe) | 2012 | Queen Makeda*** |
| New Delhi | 2013 | Blue Nile (at the Ethiopian Cultural Center) |
| Abuja (Nigeria) | 2013 | Saba |
| Ħamrun (Malta) | 2013 | Selam East African Bar (Eritrean) |
| Shanghai | 2013 | Eat Ethio (pop-up restaurant) |
| Amman (Jordan) | 2013 | Abyssinia |
| Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) | 2013 | Gursha (began as a pop-up) |
| Durban (South Africa) | 2013 | Café Abyssinia |
| Hong Kong | 2014 | Eat Ethio (pop-up restaurant) |
| Guangzhou (Canton), China | 2014 | Abyssinia |
| Msida (Malta) | 2015 | One Love African Restaurant |
| Chennai, India | 2016 | Abyssinian |
| Port Elizabeth (South Africa) | 2016 | Messer |
| Palm Jumeirah, UAR | 2016 | Gursha |
| Phnom Penh | 2017 | Sara |
| Malabo, Equitorial Guinea | 2018 | Lucy |
| Juhu (Mumbai), India | 2019 | Maharsh |
| Pune, India | 2019 | Abyssinian |
| Taipei, Taiwan | 2020 | Ethiopian Pure |
Harry Kloman
University of Pittsburgh (305)
Ethiopian Food ♦ Mesob Across America 
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